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(Off Topic) Battery Voltage Detector

 
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jecottrell



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 559
Location: Tucson, AZ

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(Off Topic) Battery Voltage Detector
PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:08 pm     Reply with quote

I think this has been covered before, but I couldn't find the topic.


How does one control the power to a voltage divider to sense the battery voltage? This is a 4 AA powered app that runs at either 3 or 5V and needs to last as long as possible. So, the goal is to only power the voltage divider to the ADC when taking a reading.

The topology below is an obvious option. Simply set RA4 as an input to power it up. Take a reading and then turn it off.....

However, I remember there being some issues with the configuration....



Code:



       Vbat(6V)
          |
          |
          |
          \
          /
          \
          /
          \
          /
          |
          |___________ AN0
          |
          |
          \
          /
          \
          /
          \
          /
          |
          |___________ RA4




Thanks,

John
kender



Joined: 09 Aug 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:46 pm     Reply with quote

When you put the RA4 into the high-Z state, +6V will appear on AN0 and RA4, and +6V is higher then the max allowed voltage. You could ground the bottom of the divider and add a small MOSFET (like 2N7000) in series with the top resistor. Or you could pick the higest possible values for the resistors, and have the smallest leakage. I remeber that the maximum value for the lower resistor is 2.5k, this was mentioned in the PIC's datasheet.
jecottrell



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 559
Location: Tucson, AZ

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:01 pm     Reply with quote

Thanks Kender,

I can't believe that didn't dawn on me. I'll go the FET route and everything should workout.

John
kender



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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:09 pm     Reply with quote

kender wrote:
... add a small MOSFET (like 2N7000) in series with the top resistor.


Come to think of it, it should be a P-channel MOSFET, because it's a high-side switch (2N7000 will not work). You could also use a high-side switch IC.
jecottrell



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 559
Location: Tucson, AZ

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:44 pm     Reply with quote

Wouldn't have caught that one. I've got other designs using FETs and they are always on the ground leg (low-side). Probably would have plowed right into the wall. Thanks for the correction.

I Googled and found this option:

http://www.micrel.com/product-info/products/mic2514.shtml

Printing out the data sheet now to read up on. Just another wild Friday night!
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